Lit.N.4.Allegory.love.Romance (1)

8/10/2019 Lit.N.4.Allegory.love.Romance (1)

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LECTURE NOTES IVMIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE [1].MEDIEVAL ALLEGORY

Sources: Primary sources:Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy , trans. D. Slavitt (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 200 !Ca"ella, Martianus, The Marriage of Philology and Mercury, trans. #. H. Stahl and $. %ohnson,&ith '. . Burge. )ol. 2 o* Martianus Capella and the Seven Liberal Arts (+e& or-: ColumbiaUniversit Press, / 11!, "".22 3224

orris, 5., and %.de Meung, The Roman of the Rose 6htt":77romandelarose.org78illustrations 9 Piers Plo man by !illiam Langland" An Annotated #dition, ed.Pearsall, D (Ber-le , Universito* Cali*ornia Press, / 2!

Piers the Plo man , e ;er"ts *rom the B3ges &ere mar-ed b violent and length ;on*lagrations: 'ngland too- "artin the Hundred ears #ar 6/@ th ;.9, it e "erien;ed ;ivil &ar 6the #ar o* the $oses, /A th ;.9, andso;ial u"risings or even in;i"ient religious di**eren;es 6the ollard movement, /@ th ;9.3


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3 nglo3Sa on "o"ulation s"ea-ing>nglo3Sa on, and tr ing to "reserve their ;ustoms and ;ulture, &hereas the ne& aristo;ra; and;lerg used +orman ren;h or e;;lesiasti;al atin. More so"histi;ated ;ontinental traditions &ere

brought to 'ngland, &hi;h ;ontributed to the develo"ment o* literature.

B. Mi$$l% E#!lis& Lit%rat"r%.'%rio$ a#$ !%#%ral c&aract%ristics(

)i* '%rio$(a! Period o* religious re;ord (/0443/2A0!

3 e**orts to instru;t the "eo"le(b! Period o* religious and se;ular literature (/2A03/ A4!

3 various *orms o* literature, in;luding ren;h and 'nglish roman;es(;! Period o* the great individual authors

3 5eo**re Chau;er, the Pearl "oet, #illiam angland, %ohn # ;li** (d! Emitative or transitional "eriod (/@003/A00!

- mar-ed b Chau;erJs in*luen;e

)ii* G%#%ral c&aract%ristics o+ lit%rat"r% a+t%r t&% Nor,a# Co#-"%st(3 a*ter a *irst "eriod ;hara;teriGed b a division o* languages, during the last "art o* the Middle>ges, under +orman "ressure, ld 'nglish e "erien;ed a trans*ormation &hi;h eventuall led tothe emergen;e o* Middle 'nglish, &ith various lo;al diale;ts.3 under the +orman in*luen;e the 'nglish a;Fuire ;ontinental tastes in literature and be;omea;Fuainted &ith the 'uro"ean literature &hi;h had sha"ed those tastes3 the +ormans develo" the institution o* "atronage (&ealth +ormans su""orted the develo"mento* the arts!3 the learned ;lerg stimulated edu;ation and the intelle;tual li*e3 languages used: +orman ren;h, atin, >nglo3Sa on later: Middle 'nglish3 it &as a "eriod o* enri;hment o* the 'nglish language, mostl through s non m3 the literature o* this "eriod &as available in a large bod o* material3 the Fuitaine3 moral and edi* ing themes rather, than *i;tional "revailed3 the most *reFuent themes &ere

- histories: #a;e ( *rut !, Monmouth ( The $istory of the ings of #ngland !roman;es (the roman;e ; ;les!


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0. T34%s o+ lit%rar3 $isco"rs%G%#r%s()i* 4o%tr3

3 *abliau ("l. *abliau !: ;rude, inde;ent stories o* ;oarse humour3 *ables: moraliGing "oems using animals to e "ress human vi;es7virtues3 ;aroles7songs (o* love and marriage!3 roman;es: "oems about love and heroi; deeds o* arms

)ii* 4ros%(3 histor , "hiloso"h , "oliti;al treatises, biogra"hies, religious treatises, m sti;al &ritings

)iii* $ra,a( 3 religious dramamysteries (Bibli;al stories ;on;erning events and "ersonalities *orm the ld and +e& ntiFuit , &hi;h is "arallelled b the rise o* Christianit as amain religion,

- in this "ro;ess, the an;ient gods are in;reasingl "er;eived as mere "ersoni*i;ations and notas divinities:

3 >res (Mars! 3 no longer the 5od o* &ar but a (literar ! re"resentation or "ersoni*i;ationo* &ar3 ?ronos (Saturn! 3 no longer the titan, is assimilated to Chronos, a "ersoni*i;ation o*time3 abstra;t notions li-e *aith ( 2ides !, harmon ( Concordia !, mind ( Mens !, Piet ( Pite !,

+ature ( inde or in ! are understood as "ersoni*i;ations

)ii* The profound change in the understanding of moral experience- a ;hange o;;urs at the level o* moralit as &ell- the an;ient 5ree- (>ristotle! ;onsidered that a reall moral or good man abstains voluntaril

*rom doing evil that there &as ease and "leasure in a;;om"lishing good a;ts and that nomoral e**ort &as ne;essar to do good things

- during the late >ntiFuit and earl Middle >ges, Christianit (&ith St. Paul, >ugustine,urelius!

- *rom this "ers"e;tive, there is a conflict bet&een duty and inclination- a ne& ethi;s a""ears, &hi;h is based on the notion o* tem"tation and im"li;itl , o* sin- as a ;onseFuen;e the idea o* *ight against tem"tation indu;es the idea o* man as a soldier

(miles ! later ado"ted b mediaeval -nighthood


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nne *or detailedre*eren;es9 )ii* %rotic :3 allegori;al ;hara;ters indi;ate various moods, states o* mind, *eelings, virtues, vi;es, et;. relatedto ;ourtl love3 *or e am"le in Le Roman de la Rose , began b 5uillaume de orris and ;om"leted b %ean de


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Meung 6/ th ;.9, the authors des;ribe ho& the over ;ourts his ad and eventuall su;;eeds to "i;- a the red $ose 6allegori;al re"resentation o* *ul*illed love9. En his Fuest he meets various;hara;ters &hi;h are allegori;al illustrations o* ;ourtl love as 5enerosit , or o* the ad smoods, su;h air #el;ome or %ealous , et;.

)iii* &o,il%tic :3 homileti; allegories are meant to illustrate religious Fuestions &hi;h ma be di**i;ult tounderstand or to "rovid ea re*ined e "ression *or these Fuestions3 e am"les o* homileti; allegores ;an be *ound in #illiam angland, Piers Plo man , or in theanon mous moralit #veryman3 allegori;al ;hara;ters: Piers Plo&man (*or Christ or the good Christian! 'ver man (*or allman-ind!3 allegori;al a;tions : li*e as a "ilgrimage or an ordeal3 allegori;al states o* mind or habits: $e;-lesness (nesabuinta!, the seven Deadl Sins (>vari;e,'nv , 5reed, Pride, >nger, Sloth, e;her ! the three virtues: aith, Ho"e, Charit3 allegories o* institutions: the Chur;h

C. TE5TS(6nd tutor o* our treasure O to give it ou at need

or husbandr and the O hold &ell together.J


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nd to tea;h me -indl O on Christ to believe,.D. @ ! &as one o* themost "o"ular atin "oems o* the earl Middle >ges...6


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o* a &oman &hose loo- *illed me &ith a&e. Her burning gaGe &as indes;ribabl "enetrating,unli-e that o* an one E have ever met, and &hile her ;om"le ion &as as *resh and glo&ing as thato* a girl, E realiGed that she &as an;ient and that nobod &ould mista-e her *or a ;reature o* ourtime. Et &as im"ossible to estimate her height, *or she seemed at *irst to be o* ordinar measure,

but then, &ithout seeming to ;hange, she a""eared to be e traordinaril tall, so that her head all but tou;hed the heavens. E &as ;ertain that i* she had a mind to stret;h her ne;- Iust a little, her*a;e &ould "enetrate the s-ies, &here it &ould be utterl lost to human vie&. Her dress &as amira;le o* *ine ;loth and meti;ulous &or-manshi", and, as E later learned, she had &oven ithersel*. But it had dar-ened li-e a smo-e3bla;-ened *amil statue in the atrium as i* throughnegle;t and &as ding and &orn. E ;ould see &or-ed into the bottom border the 5ree- letters R("i *or "ra;ti;e! and slightl higher T (theta *or theor ! &ith ste"s that &ere mar-ed bet&eenthem to *orm a ladder b &hi;h one might ;limb *rom the lo&er to the u""er. Some ru**ians haddone violen;e to her elegant dress, and ;learl bits o* the *abri; had been torn a&a . En her righthand she held a *e& boo-s, and in her le*t she ;arried a s;e"ter.

6Sour;e: Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy , trans. D. Slavitt (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP,200 !9

Martia#"s7 Ca4%lla. The Marriage of Philology and Mercury.Gra,,ar622 9 So atonaJs son 6>"ollo9 moved *or&ard *rom her *ormer "la;e one o* the servants o*Mer;ur , an old &oman indeed but o* great ;harm, &ho said that she had been born in Mem"his&hen siris &as still -ing &hen she had been a long time in hiding, she &as *ound and broughtu" b the C llenian 6Mer;ur 9 himsel*. tti;a, &here she had livedand "ros"ered *or the greater "art o* her li*e, she moved about in 5ree- dress but be;ause o* the

atin gods and the Ca"itol and the ra;e o* Mars and des;endants o* )enus, a;;ording to the;ustom o* $omulus 6i.e., $oman ;ustom9 she entered the senate o* the gods dressed in a $oman;loa-. She ;arried in her hands a "olished bo , a *ine "ie;e o* ;abinetma-ing, &hi;h shone on theoutside &ith light ivor , *rom &hi;h li-e a s-ill "h si;ian the &oman too- out the emblems o*&ounds that need to be healed. 62@@9 ut o* this bo she too- *irst a "runing -ni*e &ith a shining

"oint, &ith &hi;h he said she ;ould "rune the *aults o* "ronun;iation in ;hildren then the ;ould be restored to health &ith a ;ertain bla;- "o&der ;arried through reeds, a "o&der &hi;h &asthought to be made o* ash or the in- o* ;uttle*ish. lthough this "oulti;e &as e**e;tive inassisting memor and attention, et b its nature it -e"t "eo"le a&a-e. 62249 She also brought outa *ile *ashioned &ith great s-ill, &hi;h &as divided into eight golden "arts Ioined in di**erent

&a s, and &hi;h darted ba;- and *orth33&ith &hi;h b gentle rubbing she graduall ;leaned dirtteeth and ailments o* the tongue and the *ilth &hi;h had been "i;-ed u" in the to&n o* Soloe.6tti; diale;t among the >thenian ;olonists atSoloi in Cili;ia. X9 (4@34A!

6Sour;e: Martianus, Ca"ella. The Marriage of Philology and Mercury"


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e $oman de la $ose 6summar 9:8Le Roman de la Rose , begun b 5uillaume de orris ;a. /2 0 and ;om"leted, in a di**erentst le, ;a. /2103 0, b %ean de Meun, builds on the ;on;e"t o* ;ourtl love *ound in the "oetr o*the troubadours. tour o* the garden brings him to a beauti*ul bedo* roses b the ountain o* ove. Pier;ed b the arro&s o* the god o* love, he sets out to "lu;- therosebud that has over&helmed his senses. ove e "lains to the over ho& he ought to ;ondu;thimsel*, and the ;on*li;ting emotions he &ill *eel. #ith hel" *rom #arm #el;ome, the overma-es his &a through the thi;-et o* thorns and ;on*ronts Danger and his allies, Slander, earand others. >ided b riend, Honest , Pit and )enus, he su;;eeds in over;oming Chastit andobtaining his desire.His bliss is short3lived, as the *or;es o* resistan;e o""ose him in the se;ond "art o* the "oem,&ritten b de Meun. ""earan;e and or;ed>bstinen;e tri;- and strangle Slander, thus entering the &all and *reeing Courtes and 5enerosit .

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Lit.N.4.Allegory.love.Romance (1)